Electrode.



E. O. SPEIDEN.

ELECTRODE.

1911. 1,033,205. Patented July 23, 1912.

. UNITED STA'ILIEQPATERT OFFICE.

EBEN C. SPEIDEN, OF NIAGARA FALLS, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO INTERNATIONAL ACHESON GRAPHITE COMPANY, OF NIAGARA FALLS, NEW YORK, A CORFORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

ELECTRODE.

To all whom it M ay concern:

Be it known that I, EBEN C. SPEIDEN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Niagara Falls, in the county of Niagara and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Elece trodes, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to electrodes designed particularly for. electrothermic work, as for example the product-ion of steel or other metallic products in the electric furnace.

For electrothermic purposes it is often advantageous to use an electrode of such cross section as to afford a wider distribution of current to the bath than could be had from the samemass disposed in the usual round or rectangular shape. It is further desirable that the electrodes should be so constructed that they may be joined at the ends in such manner that new sect-ions may be added as the electrode is consumed.

The present invention is a construction wherein the above-mentioned advantages may be secured. The sections of the electrodes are in the preferred construction readily adapted to intermesh -with each other, and each section is composed of condilctive plates disposed in angular relation to each other, the effect of this construction being the exposure to the bath of a comparatively large electrode area. The unit cost of manufacture of electrodes increases with the size above a certain limit, and in the larger sizes it is diificult to secure uniformity and homogeneity, these qualities being often sacrificed to size. It is preferred therefore to construct the sections, particularly when these are of comparatively large size, of several plates or parts .which are usually of better quality than an integral electrode having the same dimensions as the composite electrode. The composite sections therefore comprise separate plates secured together for example by carbon or graphite pins or by other suitable means.

The sectional construction in accordance with the present invention presents an important advantage in that it afiords a joint of good electrical conductivity and high mechanical strength without the necessity of machining the ends of the sections. The sections may be constructed of plates or bars of graphite or carbon of standard forms and dimensions, the conformation required Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 5, 1911.

Patented July 23, 1912.

Serial N0. 625,292.

for the joint being obtained by assembling these standard plates in certain definite reabutting the pieces, with or without a filling of powdered graphite or graphite cement; or the abutting surfaces of the respective sections may be tapered, threaded or secured by pins as may be desired to further increase the conductivity of the joint. The electrodes may be made from graphitized or non-graphitic carbon, or from other materials if desired. The electrodes maybe hollow or solid in cross-section. In the case of hollow electrodes it is preferred to insert within them, at suitable intervals, plugs or filling masses which serve several important purposes. These plugs may in some cases be composed of concrete or other material not objectionable to the operation in view, serving to prevent the escape of gases through the electrode and the consequent overheating of the electrode. Preferably however they are of carbon or graphite and are disposed in proximity to the joints, serving the further purposes of increasing the mechanical strength and the electrical conductivity at these points. The electrode may in some cases be filled with concrete or other material not prejudicial to the operation.

For a full understanding of my invention reference is made to the accompanying drawings wherein certain illustrative forms of electrodes embodying the invention are shown, it being understood that the invention is not restricted to the particular constructions chosen for illustration.

In said drawings :Figure 1 is a perspective view of one form of electrode whereof two sections adapted to intermesh are illustrated; Fig. 2 is a transverse section on line IIII of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a modified form of electrode, two sections being shown; and Fig. 4 is a transverse section on line IVIV- of Fig. 3.

The construction illustrated in Figs. 1 and graphite or carbon, assembled in such manner that the edge of each plate abuts the face of the adjacent plate near the inner edge thereof, in regular progression. The plates are secured together by carbon or graphite pins or screws 2 or in any other suitable manner. In this construction the plates of each section are of equal, length and similar shape, and the opposite plates are extended beyond the intermediate plates in such manner as to form an intermeshing joint with a similarly constructed section, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. It will be observed that each plate is in contact with an adjacent plate over the whole area of its smaller side, or edge, that is to say over an area corresponding substantially to its lesser longitudinal cross-section, whereby a highly effective distribution of the current is secured.

Figs. 3 and 4 illustrate an essentially similar construction, with the exception that the edge of each plate 1 abuts the face of the adjacent plate near the central line thereof, providing thereby an interspace 3 (see Fig. 4:) which may be filled or not as desired with any suitable material, as for example a carbonaceous or slag-forming mixture, concrete or the like.

4 represents a plug which partially or completely fills the interior of the prism and serves to strengthen the joint between the sections as well as to-prevent the upward movement of the gas through the electrode- If the plug is composed of carbon or graphite, as is preferably the case, it likewise greatly increases the conductivity of the joint. As illustrated, the plug is secured to one of the sections by a pin 5 and extends upwardly in position to enter the adjacent section.

It is obvious that by varying the position of the plates with relation to each other the size of the interspace 3 may be varied as desired, or it may be eliminated as in the construction shown in Fig. 1. It 'is also 0bvious that the several bars or plates constituting a section may all terminate in different planes, instead of opposite bars terminating in the same plane as herein-illus-. trated.

In the use of these constructions, it will be understood that the current is conveyed to one or more of the sections by means of appropriate clamps or equivalent terminals, the position of which may be adjusted as re quired, as is well understood in the art.

I. claim:

1. A composite electrode consisting of a plurality of conductive plates assembled to form external reentrant angles, each of said plates in conductive contact with an adjacent plate over an area substantially equal to its lesser longitudinal cross-section whereby an effective distribution of the current is secured.

2. An electrode section consisting of a plurality of conducting members assembled in lateral contact and terminating in different planes, said members disposed to form external reentrant angles, whereby an added surface of contact with the charge is provided.

3. A composite electrode consisting of a plurality of conductive plates approximately radially disposed and assembled to form external rentrant angles, each of said plates in conductive contact with an adjacent plate over an area substantially equal to its lesser longitudinal cross-section whereby an effective distribution of the current is secured.

4- An electrode section consisting of a plurality of conductive plates assembled in lateral contact and terminating in different planes, said members approximately radially disposed, whereby an added surface of contact with the charge-is provided.

In testimony whereof, I aiiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

EBEN C. SPEIDEN.

Witnesses:

WOLDEMAR HAUPT', HENRY HASPER. 

